The means by which the Conservative Party have determined their party leadership have produced some of the most dramatic political theatre of the last four decades. We have seen the Conservative Party's increasing inability, especially in the post-Thatcher era, to agree on how to select a leader and, once selected, whether that person should remain as leader. Here Timothy Heppell observes how the dominance of ideology has been immensely disadvantageous to post-Thatcherite Conservatism. Rather than empowering incumbents to project their leadership credentials outwards to the electorate and against their Labour counterpart, successive Conservative party leaders have been increasingly forced to look inwards, devoting crucial time to the complexities of intra-party management and the threats against them from rivals from within the parliamentary party. Integrating debates on leadership election rules with the centrality of ideology and pragmatism in leadership selection, 'Choosing the Tory Leader' gives a comprehensive and timely examination of Conservative Party leadership elections since 1965.Přečíst více...

Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.

Obsahy:

1 Introduction; 2 The War of the Macmillan Succession: The Catalyst for Electing the Party Leader; 2.1 The Resignation of Harold Macmillan; 2.2 The Lack of an Agreed Successor; 2.3 Bias in the Customary Processes of Consultation?; 2.4 The Outmanoeuvring of Butler; 2.5 The Customary Processes in Disrepute: A Failure of Process and Outcome; 2.6 Conclusion; 3 Edward Heath: The First Democratic Leader of the Conservative Party; 3.1 The Resignation of Alec Douglas-Home; 3.2 Three Candidates Emerge; 3.3 How and why did Edward Heath win?; 3.4 Conclusion; 4 The Peasants Revolt? The Election of Margaret Thatcher; 4.1 The Refusal of Edward Heath to Resign; 4.2 The Challenge of Margaret Thatcher; 4.3 The Ballots: Rejecting Heath and Electing Thatcher; 4.4 Explaining the Election of Margaret Thatcher; 4.4.1 The Influence of Personality: The Anti-Heath interpretation; 4.4.2 The Influence of Ideas: The Ideological Explanation; 4.5 Conclusion; 5 Treachery with a Smile on its Face: The Downfall of Margaret Thatcher; 5.1 The Lightweight Challenge of Anthony Meyer; 5.2 The Heavyweight Challenge of Michael Heseltine; 5.3 The Thatcher versus Heseltine Ballot. 5.4 The Resignation of Margaret Thatcher; 5.5 The Default Victory of John Major; 5.6 Why Thatcher lost and Major triumphed; 5.7 Conclusion; 6 Put Up of Shut Up: John Redwood Challenges John Major; 6.1 The Evolution of the Put Up or Shut Up strategy; 6.2. The Implementation of the Put Up or Shut Up strategy; 6.3 The Validity of the Put Up or Shut Up strategy; 6.3.1 The Vote of Confidence Thesis; 6.3.2 Another Default Major Victory; 6.4 Conclusion; 7 You Cannot be Serious: The Election of William Hague; 7.1 The Resignation of John Major; 7.2 Profiling the Multiple Candidates; 7.3 Evaluating the Multiple Ballots; 7.4. Identifying the Multiple Legitimacy Problems of Hague; 7.5 Conclusion; 8 The Quiet Man Emerges: The Election of Iain Duncan-Smith; 8.1 The Resignation of William Hague; 8.2 New Leadership Election, New Leadership Election Procedures; 8.3 The Candidates: Two Heavyweights, Three Lightweights; 8.4 The Parliamentary Ballots; 8.5 The Party Membership Ballot; 8.6 A Failure of Process and a Flawed Outcome; 8.7 Conclusion; 9 Back to the Future: Michael Howard becomes Conservative Party Leader; 9.1 The Credibility Gap: The Limitations of Iain Duncan-Smith; 9.2 The Procedural Dilemma; 9.3 The Brutal Execution of Iain Duncan-Smith; 9.4 The Unopposed Coronation of Michael Howard; 9.5 Conclusion; 10 The Triumph of the Modernizers: The Election of David Cameron; 10.1 The Prolonged Resignation of Michael Howard; 10.2 Four Candidates Emerge; 10.3 The Parliamentary Ballots; 10.4 The Party Membership Ballot; 10.5 Explaining the Modernizers Triumph; 10.6 Conclusion.

Anotace:

The means by which the Conservative Party have determined their party leadership has produced some of the dramatic political theatre of the last four decades. This book assesses the way in which the Conservative Party have determined their leadership since the 1960s. It explains how and why respective victors were elected.Přečíst více...

Recenze

Recenze redakce

Souhrn od vydavatele

"'This book is characterised by scholarship and good sense. It will be a useful addition to students and scholars of British politics.' - Dr. Matt Beech, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Hull 'Heppell's book is to be welcomed because it provides both an overview and a detailed analysis of the politics of leadership in the Conservative Party but it goes further. It examines what mass democracy requires of its leaders and as such it contributes significantly to the study of leadership in democracies.' - Professor Andrew Taylor, Department of Politics, University of Sheffield"Přečíst více...

"The means by which the Conservative Party have determined their party leadership have produced some of the most dramatic political theatre of the last four decades. We have seen the Conservative Party's increasing inability, especially in the post-Thatcher era, to agree on how to select a leader and, once selected, whether that person should remain as leader. Here Timothy Heppell observes how the dominance of ideology has been immensely disadvantageous to post-Thatcherite Conservatism. Rather than empowering incumbents to project their leadership credentials outwards to the electorate and against their Labour counterpart, successive Conservative party leaders have been increasingly forced to look inwards, devoting crucial time to the complexities of intra-party management and the threats against them from rivals from within the parliamentary party. Integrating debates on leadership election rules with the centrality of ideology and pragmatism in leadership selection, 'Choosing the Tory Leader' gives a comprehensive and timely examination of Conservative Party leadership elections since 1965."@en